10 The Challenge | Summer 2011

Meaningful youth leadership

opportunities have increased

over the past twenty years. As

adults recognize the value of

intentionally engaging youth

in leadership development ex-

periences, the desire to inspire

self-awareness and measure

gains from these experiences

has also increased. But be-

cause leadership development

has long been considered the

territory of business or man-

agement, much of the existing research

applies to the adults functioning in a

corporate environment. The same is

true for leadership assessments and

inventories, most being written, tested,

and tabulated for adult relevance.

The Everyday Leadership Skills and

Attitudes (ELSA) Inventory (Free Spirit

Publishing, 2010; http://www.freespirit.

com) is different. This 49-statement,

self-scoring leadership inventory is

written specifically for tweens and

teens. It takes into consideration the

unique attitudes and perspectives kids

and teens have as they learn to be lead-

ers and seek ways to strengthen and

develop leadership skills and competen-

cies. And because kids and teens often

have limited exposure to deliberate

leadership “training,” the inventory is an

excellent springboard for infusing lead-

ership into everyday settings.

The ELSA inventory uses youth-

friendly language and a four-point Lik-

ert scale: Not like Me (Never), A Little

like Me (Sometimes), Often like Me

(Usually), and This is Me! (Always). The

lack of an Undecided or Don’t Know op-

tion is intentional, designed to prompt

kids and teens to carefully consider

their responses instead of circling a

non-committal response. Of course,

some statements may leave teens wish-

ing for an Undecided option, particu-

larly if objectively assessing their lead-

ership skills is unfamiliar. In this situa-

tion, the facilitator can encourage teens

to choose between the two lower op-

tions on the scale (Not like me or A little

like me) because they aren’t strongly

convinced that a particular statement

describes their leadership behaviors or

connect to their everyday experiences.

After completing the inventory,

which takes approximately 15-20 min-

utes, youth use their results to explore

seven youth-leadership relevant catego-

ries: Self-Awareness (SA), Working with

Others (WWO), Qualities of Leadership

(QOL), Communicating, Listening, and

Being Heard (CLBH), Decision Making

and Problem Solving (DMPS), Social So-

lutions (SS), and Seeking Opportunities

(SO).

The Everyday Leadership Skills and Attitudes Inventory (ELSA) for Tweens and Teens

A Youth-Specific Tool to Use in Any Setting

LOOKING AHEAD TO LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE XVI

This winter Barbara Lewis will focus on service leadership at Leadership Institute XVI. A national award-winning author, Barbara has penned such works as What Do You Stand For? For Kids; What Do You Stand For? For Teens; The Kid’s Guide to Social Action; The Kid’s Guide to Service Projects; The Teen Guide to Global Action; and Kids with Courage. Mark December 1 and 2 on your calendars, and check the web later this summer for more detailed information.

B y M a r i a M M a c G r e G o r

Cara

Pitc

hfor

d

The Challenge | Summer 2011 11

LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE XV

For the past fifteen years, The Center has hosted the Leadership Institute. Designed to equip educators and other interested adults with strategies and resources to develop leadership skills in young people, the Institute shares cutting-edge research and best practices for leadership development. This year Mariam MacGregor of Youth Leadership introduced the ELSA inventory (as discussed in her article) in addition to effective strategies from her Building Everyday Leadership curriculum. Twenty-five participants came from 18 districts.

No two leadership programs are

alike, yet leadership skills and attitudes

in young people run along similar paths

regardless of the leadership experiences

in which they’re involved. While the

ELSA Inventory aligns directly with the

Building Everyday Leadership curriculum,

field tests across a wide range of leader-

ship programs and courses involving

teens and tweens indicate its validity

with all youth, regardless of program.

There are various ways to incorporate

this tool into one’s leadership efforts:

As a pre- or post-assessment tool to

measure changes in attitudes and

skill development.

As a goal-setting tool within an

experience to identify strengths

and challenge areas and establish

leadership goals mindful of those

areas.

As a personal-awareness tool

to help teens gain a greater

understanding of their leadership

abilities.

As a team-awareness tool to help

teens assess the skills, talents, and

short-comings of their team or

group.

As part of a leadership program

to collect data measuring the

effectiveness of leadership

education and development efforts.

If you’re interested in further ex-

ploring youth leadership, using the In-

ventory and the Building Everyday Leader-

ship curriculum and supplemental ma-

terials, or finding additional resources

and training opportunities,

visit http://www.youthleadership.com

or contact Mariam MacGregor at

mariam@youthleadership.com.

Cara

Pitc

hfor

d